To gain some insights into attitudes and perceptions of the profession at the onset of the CPA Vision Process, external research was performed using focus groups and interviews. This research was performed by an independent, professional market research firm.

Focus Groups and Interviews
A variety of preliminary research was performed to better understand the current perceptions of the profession and thereby better understand the needs the profession must meet in the future. One of these research techniques was focus groups and interviews.

Viewpoints were gathered from focus groups that included CPAs and students in non-traditional accounting programs (economics, finance, MBAs). Interviews were also conducted with a group of nationally prominent business, government, and education leaders known as the External Advisory Council. Telephone interviews with business decision makers and high income individuals were also conducted.

CPA Focus Groups
A total of seven focus groups were conducted among CPAs working in public practice, industry, and government. These focus groups involved CPAs of different ages working in several different cities in the United States to obtain a broad range of perspectives about the future of the profession. Some consistent viewpoints:

• CPAs find it easier to deal with short-term issues than to contemplate the long-term future. Nevertheless, CPAs believe they have a significant future and role to play, in spite of non-traditional sources of competition.
• CPAs recognize specific changes in the business environment will affect the profession. Notably, technology can be leveraged to produce opportunities. The expansive potential of technology does not appear to be fully appreciated by some members of the profession.
• CPAs feel pressure to expand their skills and services beyond traditional roles. Many feel the direction of expansion to be broader based services and decision-making skills.
• CPAs continue to highly value their reputation for trust and credibility.
• CPAs believe specialized knowledge is an important part of broader business issues that are affected by global economics.
• CPAs believe quality and flexibility are key elements of the CPA designation.
• CPAs find passion and fulfillment in their work. Many emphasize the ability to work in a variety of positions within the profession, moving into other areas of business, and gaining additional education and skills as significant aspects of their future.
• CPAs find that traditional education and training for the designation lack the breadth of knowledge and skills required in the workplace, necessitating changes in both pre- and post-CPA examination education.
• CPAs view CPE as appealing to traditional positions within the profession or simply required to maintain the status quo; however, in the future, redesigned educational processes must facilitate education that leads to new competencies and not merely enhanced services.

Non-Accounting Major Student Focus Groups
In addition, two focus groups were held for students pursuing non-traditional accounting degrees (economics, finance, MBAs) to gain some understanding as to what steers students toward or away from the CPA profession. Their feedback was as follows:

• Non-accounting majors are pursuing non-accounting degrees in order to maximize opportunities and job stability.
• Non-accounting majors feel the need to acquire a broad background of knowledge and skills to enable them to adapt to new demands over time.
• Non-accounting majors perceive CPAs as intelligent, yet involved in minor, tedious, and methodical tasks.
• Non-accounting majors believe that CPAs are not involved in the decision-making aspects of business and do not understand global economic issues.
• Non-accounting majors largely perceive that CPA educators have sufficient understanding of todayÕs accounting profession but lack communication skills and a thorough understanding of the profession of tomorrow, beyond the traditional realm of the CPA.

External Advisory Council
An External Advisory Council of influential professionals working in large and small businesses, government, and education was interviewed to provide knowledgeable and independent outlooks about the future of the profession. (A list of External Advisory Council members can be found at the CPA Vision Web site: http://www.cpavision.org) The main themes of their observations include:

• The CPA profession has the capacity to face the changes it will encounter.
• CPAs must stay abreast of the changing environment in order to meet future challenges.
• Emerging opportunities for CPAs include a broad base of new services to support decision-making in business.
• CPAs must become multi-skilled in a wide range of financial and non-financial areas.
• CPAs must develop better communication skills including interpersonal skills.
• CPAs must become more flexible.

Small Business Decision Makers and Affluent Households
Telephone surveys of users of CPA services were conducted to elicit the perceived value of the profession from a marketplace perspective. These surveys involved small business decision-makers as well as heads of affluent households, and complemented the interviews of the External Advisory Council. The marketplace perspectives of the profession include the following:

• Users of CPA services express satisfaction with their current use of CPA services.
• Users of professional services perceive value through integrity, thoroughness, knowledge, ability to process information, and timely availability of information.
• Users of current services believe CPAs perform well in traditional areas but do not perceive CPAs as a source of additional services.